11 Common Causes Of Sleep Deprivation

Lien Nguyen

Sleep plays an essential role in good health throughout your life. Getting enough quality and quantity sleep can help protect your physical health, mental health and safety. During the sleep, your body is working to assist healthy brain function as well as maintain your physical health. In children and teenagers, sleep also helps their growth and development.

Sleep deprivation is a term to show a condition that is caused by inadequate quality or quantity of sleep. This can happen over only one night, or even weeks, months or years. The damage from sleep deprivation can occur in an instant or in a long time.

Causes Of Sleep Deprivation- The Most Common Causes:

Sleep deprivation occurs when you continuously fail to get enough sleep. A person ‘s need for sleep differs, but adults often need 8 hours, and younger individuals need 9 hours each night. Sleep deprivation can be acute (coming on quickly, but ending rapidly) or chronic (recurs periodically or lasts a long time).

In the article today, I would like to reveal some of the most common causes of sleep deprivation in details so you should keep your eyes on the following interesting health factsand the causes that lead to sleep deprivation. The causes are:

1. Medical Causes

This is the first out of the most common causes of sleep deprivation that I would like to reveal in this entire article and want you and my other readers to learn for good!

Medical problems causing sleep deprivation can be either sleep disorders that disrupt normal sleep as a main effect or conditions in which sleep deprivation is a side effect. They may be either mild or more serious one that can result in insomnia. For example, in case you are suffering the breathing problem that is called sleep apnea, you will be woken up a couple of times each night so that you can prevent asphyxiation.

Mental illnesses causing manic conditions of hyperactivity can make you awake for a long time. The muscle rigidity and tremors that are caused by Parkinson’s disease can lead to disrupted sleep frequently. Some other examples of medical conditions that lead to insomnia as well as sleep deprivation include gastrointestinal problems, nasal congestion, arthritis, asthma, chronic pain, low back pain.

Occasionally, medications can be causes of sleep deprivation. In fact, many types of health conditions need you to take medication, either natural homeopathic treatments or over the counter or prescription. This is because many drugs include stimulants and other ingredients which can impede the body’s natural ability to sleep and stay asleep. Your physical condition, even small changes also make a big difference. Medications you should notice are those taken for nasal allergies, common cold, heart disease, birth control, blood pressure, asthma.

2. Food And Drink

Another out of the most common causes of sleep deprivation that I would like to reveal in this entire article and want you and other readers to learn and remember to follow is that food and drink can be causes that lead to sleep deprivation.

Some certain foods and drinks can contribute to sleep deprivation. In case you cannot feel asleep, review some lifestyles factors to see if they could be affecting you:

Alcohol is a sedative, which can make you feel asleep initially, but it might disrupt your natural sleep later at night.

Caffeine is a stimulant. Almost all of people know the alerting power of caffeine and then make use of it in the morning to help them feel productive. If you use it in moderation, it will be fine for you, but if you use excessive caffeine, it can cause insomnia. Caffeine can help you stay in your system for about 8 hours, so if you get insomnia, remember not to consume drinks or foods with caffeinebefore your bedtime.

 Nicotine is a stimulant that can cause sleep deprivation. Smoking close to your bedtime can make you difficult to sleep well throughout the night. Besides, smoking is completely harmful to your overall health, so you should quit smoking it as soon as possible.

 Consuming heavy meals too close to your bedtime can disrupt your natural sleep. You should just get a small snack before going to bed. When you consume too much, it can lead to discomfort and make it difficult for the body to relax. Also, spicy foods can cause heartburn and interrupt your sleep.

3. Insomnia

Insomnia is also one of the most common causes of sleep deprivation that people should know and try to deal with it for good.

Insomnia is a health condition that involves in difficult sleeping at night. This can affect up to a third population of the adult and be linked with sleep deprivation. It is defined by symptoms of difficulty with memory, concentration and performing well at work or school and daytime sleepiness. Some patients have to suffer from insomnia as well as sleep deprivation without finding an identifiable and clear cause.

In fact, the difference between insomnia and sleep deprivation is that insomnia means to not be able to use the sleeping time while sleep deprivation refers to not have the chance to have a full night sleep.

4. Sleeping Environment

In some instances, sleep deprivation can occur due to stimuli in the sleeping environment. This may contain extreme temperatures, a noisy neighborhood, or sleeping with a partner who gets snoring. New parents also usually experience sleep deprivation as they have to get up throughout the night to care for or feed their young children.

In addition to this, electronic devices such as laptops, smartphone, and TV can mess with the body’s supply of melatonin, which is a hormone helping you feel asleep at night.

This is in brief one of the most common causes of sleep deprivation, so people should not look down yet try to make some environmental changes to be able to feel asleep more easily. Continue reading this entire article to discover other common causes of sleep deprivation!

5. Sleeping Habits

Sleeping habits can have an effect on the quantity and quality of sleep as well. This may contain the activities undertaken, physical exercises, smoking close to bedtime that can stimulate the nervous system and thus making you sleep less.

Some other examples of sleeping habits can result in sleep deprivation are:

 You work in the evenings. This can make you feel preoccupied when it comes sleep time. The light from the computer can also make your brain alert.

 You take naps in the afternoon (even in case they are short). For some people, short napping makes them have difficulty in falling asleep at night.

 You sleep to make up for deprived sleep. This can confuse the body’s natural clock and make you difficult to sleep again next night.

This is actually also one out of the common causes of sleep deprivation that a lot of people in the world suffer from and have been trying to change to get better sleep.

6. Voluntary Behavior

Behaviorally induced sleep loss syndrome is a kind of sleep disorder linked to chronic sleep loss caused by a voluntary condition of restricted sleep. This frequently occurs due to the fact that patients are not aware that their body demands adequate sleep. They may consider bedtime as wasted time. Instead of sleeping at a reasonable hour, they choose to keep awake to join in activities, enjoy hobbies, or pursue other things such as educational goals or money making pursuits. This intentional sleep deprivation is mostly seen in teenagers and young adults.

This is, in fact, one of the most common causes of sleep deprivation that people should know to find the way to get rid of sleep loss soon.

7. Work And Study Commitments

Today, specific work environments can disrupt natural sleep-wake cycles of your body, thus causing sleep deprivation. For example, shift workers and those who have to frequently travel to a different time zone have no intention of having regular sleep patterns and usually do not sleep enough. Also, some situational causes such as different culture, change of living situation or job, change of season are also causes of sleep deprivation.

Young children and adolescents need to sleep more than adults do. However, school schedules and study commitments can make it difficult to have the needed amount of sleep, and sometimes this will lead to sleep deprivation. This is particularly popular in adolescents. This is because the sleep-wake cycle shifts making them fall asleep later; nonetheless, the early school schedule needs them to wake up before they have enough sleep.

In fact, this is also among the most common causes of sleep deprivation so people should try to arrange their works and studies in order to get enough time for their sleep.

8. Short-term Illness

Another one on the list of the most common causes of sleep deprivation that I would like to reveal in this entire article today and want you and my other readers to consider treating them soon if you are trying to deal with sleep loss.

Short-term illnesses like a cold, tonsillitis or influenza can lead to changes in breathing while a patient sleeps. This makes an individual snore, gag, frequently wake up throughout the night. Thus, short-term illnesses can disrupt the sleep and cause sleep loss.

In fact, a lot of patients with the short-term illness have to suffer from sleep loss. Thus, it is among the most causes of sleep deprivation that you should know for good!

9. Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a condition that is involved in the collapse of the upper airway while a patient sleeps, as a result of reduced airflow to the lungs. It usually causes the patient to wake up frequently during the night as a response to the insufficient supply of oxygen. Thus, it is common for them to get sleep deprivation and experience sleepiness during the daytime.

Do you want to know two of other common causes of sleep deprivation? Continue reading this article right now!

10. Other Sleep Disorders

Sleep deprivation may be a symptom of some other underlying sleep disorders. For instance, restless legs syndrome, a neurological health condition in which a patient often has an uncomfortable sensation of requiring moving the legs, can be a cause of sleep deprivation. Patients with this syndrome often experience worse signs and symptoms in the periods of inactivity, which means that falling and staying asleep can be really difficult.

This is also a common one on the list of causes of sleep deprivation that people should not skip but consider getting a proper treatment to reduce sleep disorders as soon as possible.

11. Psychological Causes

This is the last but very important out of the most common causes of sleep deprivation that I would like to reveal in this entire article and want you and my other readers to know if they are facing any psychological issue.

Some people want to admit the root of their sleep loss is hinged to a psychological cause. However, in many instances, this is a key to the sleep cycle. You may have experienced the middle night worries, and suddenly you are awake, and you are in panic sweat over the house payment, credit card bills, the children’s education payment, or even remembering something you have forgotten at work yesterday. This may be simplistic; however, multiple interruptions like this can make you sleep deprived.

The demands of clubs, classes, and daily activities can bring a lot of stress to people now. It is usually necessary to sacrifice a little sleep time in order to finish everything on time. All of these stress have you unable to sleep at night or waken up once in the sleep and unable to get back to the sleep. Anxiety can be a real psychological and medical cause that can disrupt the natural sleep cycle in bad ways. Depression is the big causes of insomnia as well as sleep deprivation. Contrary to this name of affliction, this condition suppresses the natural drives of your body. And one of these drives is sleep.

In case you have any problem in sleeping on a regular basis, it is advised to review your health and consider whether any underlying medical problems or sleep disorders may be causes of your sleep deprivation. In some instances, there are easy steps that you can take to improve your quantity and quality of sleep such as trying to limit distractions, using relaxation techniques, and avoiding bright lighting. In other instances, you need to consult your doctor to figure out a proper course of action. You should not simply accept that your sleep deprivation is a way of life. Instead, talk to a sleep specialist for help.

Another thing that I would like all of my readers to do after reading this entire article about the most common causes of sleep deprivation is to spend time reading another article that introduces common types of sleep disorders – the 6 Common Types Of Sleep Disorders article. This is an actually necessary article that people should know and remember for good. These types of sleep disorders have already been popular, so readers of Vkool.com should read this recommended article and make use of it for good.

This is the list of 11 most common causes of sleep deprivation, which everyone who wants to know more about sleep deprivation, should read and remember for good. In fact, there are a lot of issues that lead to sleep deprivations and finding the exact cause is quite difficult for patients. However, there are still simple tips you can follow to make you feel asleep more easily as well as improve your night sleep, so you should not worry when you are facing sleep deprivation.

After reading the list of common causes of sleep deprivation and learn some easy tips to deal with this health condition, if you feel this list is good for your current health condition and can also help other people around you who are trying to get enough sleep or are having one or more of the issues I mentioned in this article, you should share this list with them and stimulate them to treat or ask a doctor for help. One more thing, as an author of VKool, I want to know my readers’ opinion, so remember to leave your feedbacks bout this article below, I am willing to discuss with you about this topic.

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